Ajanta and Ellora caves are one of the most bewildering archaeological places in india.

1. AJANTA ELLORA CAVES
RIZWAN ANSARI
M.A.TOURISM ADMINISTRATION

2. CONTENT
 ABOUT AJANTA & ELLORA CAVES
 AJANTA CAVES
 THE FACADE
 THE PAINTINGS
 ELLORA CAVES
 THE DASHAVATARA
 OTHER HINDU CAVES
 THE JAIN CAVES
 THE INDRA SABHA
 HOW TO REACH
 ENTRY FEE AND TIMING

3. ABOUT AJANTA & ELLORA CAVES
 Ajanta and nearby Ellora caves are one of
the most bewildering archaeological
places in India.
 Located in the maharashtra, the site is
about 300 kilometers northeast of
mumbai, has been designated as world
heritage site by UNESCO.
 These caves are not natural but man-made,
built by cutting huge granite
hillside. It is said that caves were built by
Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monks, who
worshiped and meditated in the caves.
 Ajanta and Ellora Caves can be visited
throughout the year but the best time
would be from June to March.

4. AJANTA CAVES
 These historical manmade caves comprise of beautiful paintings on the walls and ceilings that
depict the life of the Buddha.
 At Ajanta, the paintings on the walls, illustrate the events in the life of Gautama Buddha.

5. AJANTA CAVES CONTINUE……
 These caves are believed to see the rise and
spread of both the two sects of Buddhism,
the Hinyana and the Mahayana, and enough
examples of architecture are available still
in the caves.
 The 30 caves, including the unfinished
ones, seem to carry a distinct charm and
represent the true faces of the flourishing
Buddhist architecture, art, and obviously
the religious influence at that period of
time.
 That these caves were inhibited by Buddhist
monks and religious devotees for more than
800 years is, in itself, enough to support it
become a UNESCO world heritage site.

6.  The caves are in the state of Marathas, Maharashtra,
100 kilometers from the city of Aurangabad. The
caves are by the river Waghora, in the midst of the
Sahyadri hills burried by thick forest all around.
 The Ajanta Caves were discovered by a British
Captain, John Smith in 1819, while on a hunting
expedition.

7.  The Ajanta caves are important mainly to see the fine line of transfer of the Hinyana and the
Mahayana sect, as for the fact he Hianyana did not worship any god or goddess but they used
stupas, and other rock forms to represent Buddha.
 The Ajanta Caves, accidentally discovered by a shooting party in 1829.
 They are entirely Buddhist and date from about 200 BC to approximately 650 AD.
 It is of interest to note that the Chinese Buddhist travellers, Hiuen Tsang and Fa Hien, refer to
Ajanta in accounts of their travels.
 The caves include both Chaitya (Prayer Halls) and monasteries and have both types of
architecture and art besides paintings and scriptures, of the two sects Hinyana and Mahayana.
 The caves are unique in that they combine three forms of art—architecture, sculpture and
painting.
 There are beautiful images of nymphs and princesses well portrayed.
 Caves No. 13, 12, 10, 9 and 8 (according to chronological sequence) belong to the Hinayana
period.

8. THE FACADE (IN CAVE 2)
 Cave 2, adjacent to Cave 1, is known for
the paintings that have been preserved
on its walls, ceilings, and pillars.
 It looks pretty much the same as Cave 1
and is in a better state of preservation.
 Cave 2 has a porch quite different from
Cave one. Even the facade carvings
seem to be different.
 The cave is supported by robust pillars,
ornamented with designs.
 The size and ground plan have many
things in common with the first cave.

9. THE PAINTINGS
 Paintings are all over the cave except for the floor.Therefore, many areas of the painted walls, ceilings, and
pillars are fragmentary.
 The painted narratives of the Jataka tales are depicted only on the walls, which demanded the special attention
of the devotee.
 They are didactic in nature, meant to inform the community about the Buddha's teachings and life through
successive births.
 Their placement on the walls required the devotee to walk through the aisles and 'read' the narratives depicted
in various episodes. (Alas, to prevent vandalism, entry into the aisles is restricted by site authorities).
 The narrative episodes are depicted one after another although not in a linear order.

10.  No. 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 18, and
20 and perhaps No. 6 and 7
belong to a later Mahayana period
ending approximately AD 580
No, 1 to 5 and 21 to 29, also
Mahayana in character, came into
existence between AD 500 and
650.
 Caves 19 and 26 (chaitya) and 1
and 16 (viharas) are good
representative specimens.
 No. 16 is one of the most
important caves, being the most
elegant architecturally. The shrine
has a large statue of the Buddha
preaching.

11. ELLORA CAVES
 Ellora has 34 caves with fantastic rock cut
sculptures,built in the period of 350 AD to
750AD, Ellora caves came later than Ajanta but
hold the same mystical charm that is typical of
these caves.
 The Andakasuramardana incarnation of lord Shiva
is special and is a must see for any art lover, as are
the other important structures, depicting various
dance forms of Shiva.
 This cave contains the famous fresco of ‘The
Dying Princess’.
 12 Buddhist, 5 Jain and 17 Brahmanical caves
being located here side by side.Caves depict Lord
Buddha in various poses.
 The 17 Hindu Caves embody carvings of the
Hindu Gods- Shiva, Vishnu, Durga, Parvati and
animals.

12.  Most of the temples have courtyards and sometimes
an outer wall or rock with an entrance through it.
 The 10th century Arab geographer Masudi and the
European Thevenot who visited the temples in
1667.
 The Buddhist temples were excavated between AD
350 to 700 Compared with the Brahmanical
temples.
 Cave No. 10, the only chaitya at Ellora, is
in the form of a chapel, reminiscent of
Ajanta and Elephant. It is called
Vishvakarma, the name indicating its
dedication to the patron saint of the
craftsman.
 Caves No.11 and 12 are some of the few
caves in India with more than one storey.

13.  The next group consists of Brahmanical caves, excavated between the seventh and the early eighth century.
 No. 14 cave, Ravan ki Khai (Excavation of Ravan) is different from the Buddhist temples, having a front aisle
of 4 pillars, 12 columns enclosing a central hall and, beyond, a shrine standing by itself at the end of the hall.
 The south wall has Shaiva sculptures; the north wall has Vaishnava (i.e. pertaining to Vishnu) sculptures,
representations of Durga, Lakshmi, the Varaha or boar incarnation of Vishnu, etc. Inside the shrine is a figure of
Durga. Cave No. 15 is the Dasavatara cave.
 At the heart of this cave is a 15-foot statue of Buddha seated in a preaching pose.
 Amongst other Buddhist caves, all of the first nine (caves 1—9) are monasteric .

14.  Cave 1 is a vihara with eight cells, four in the back wall and four in the right wall. It had a
portico in the front with a cell.
 The Vishvakarma (Cave 10) is the only chaitya griha amongst the Buddhist group of caves.
 It follows the pattern of construction of Caves 19 and 26 of Ajanta.
 These were probably intended to have subsidiary shrines but not completed.
 The pillared verandah of the chaitya has a small shrine at either end .
 The corridor columns have massive squansh shafts and ghata-pallava (vase and foliage) capitals.
 In the apsidal end of the chaitya hall is a stupa on the face of which a colossal 3.30 m high
seated Buddha in vyakhyana mudra (teaching posture) is carved.
 The Hindu caves were constructed between the middle of 6th century to the end of the 8th
century.
 The early caves (caves 17—29) were constwcted during the Kalachuri period The work first
commenced in Caves 28, 27 and 19.
 These were followed by two most impressive caves constructed in the early phase - Caves
29 and 21.

15.  Along with these two, work was underway at Caves 20 and 26, and slightly later at Caves 17,
19 and 28 The caves 14, 15 and 16 were constructed during the Rashtrakuta period.
 The work began in Caves 14 and 15 and culminated in Cave 16. All these structures represent
a different style of creative vision and execution skills.

16. THE KAILASANATHA
 Main Attraction Kailash Temple A painted
panel showing the dancing Shiva
(Nataraja) from the Kailash Temple at
Ellora (Cave 16).
 One can still see a lot of the paint that once
covered the entire temple.
 Cave 16, also known as the kailasa or the
Kailasanatha, is the unrivaled centerpiece
of Ellora.
 A two-storeyed gateway opens to reveal a
U-shaped courtyard.
 In Cave 16, the Nandi Mandap and main
Shiva temple are each about 7 meters high
and built on two stories.
 A living rock bridge connects the Nandi
Mandap to the porch of the temple.

17. KAILASANATHA CONTINUE…..
 The grand sculpture Shiva-Parvati seated on
mount Kailash, while Ravana tries to lift it.
 The shrine – complete with pillars, windows,
inner and outer rooms, gathering halls, and an
enormous lingam at its heart – carved from living
stone, is carved with niches, pilasters, windows as
well as images of deities, mithunas (erotic male
and female figures) and other figures.
 Most of the deities at the left of the entrance are
Shaivaite (followers of Shiva) while on the right
hand side the deities are Vaishnavaites (followers
of Vishnu).
 The temple is a splendid achievement of
Dravidian art.
 The temple itself is tall pyramidal structure
reminiscent of a South Indian temple.
 This project was started by Krishna I (757–773)
of the Rashtrakuta dynasty that ruled from
Manyakheta in present day Karnataka state.

18. THE DASHAVATARA (THE HINDU CAVES)
 The Dashavatara (Cave 15) was begun as a Buddhist monastery. It has an open court with a free-standing
monolithic mandapa at the middle and a two-storeyed excavated temple at the rear.
 The layout of the temple is closely related to caves 11 and 12. the upper floor illustrate a wide range
of themes, which include the ten avataras of Vishnu. An inscription of grant of Dantidurga is found
on the back wall of the front mandapa.
 According to Coomaraswamy, the finest relief of this cave is the one depicting the death of
Hiranyakashipu, where Vishnu in man-lion (Narasimha) form, emerges from a pillar to lay a fatal
hand upon the shoulder of Hiranyakashipu .

19. OTHER HINDU CAVES
 Other notable Hindu caves are the Rameshvara (Cave 21), which has figurines of river goddesses
Ganga and Yamuna at the entrance.
 The Dhumar Lena (Cave 29) whose design is similar to the cave temple on Elephanta Island near
Mumbai.
 Two other caves, the Ravan ki Khai (Cave 14) and the Nilkantha (Cave 22) also have several
sculptures.
 The rest of the Hindu caves, which include the Kumbharvada (Cave 25) and the Gopilena (Cave
27) have no significant sculptures.

20. THE JAIN CAVES
 The five Jain caves at Ellora belong to the
ninth and tenth centuries.They all belong to
the Digambara sect.
 Jain caves reveal specific dimensions of Jain
philosophy and tradition. They reflect a strict
sense of asceticism – they are not relatively
large as compared to others,but they present
exceptionally detailed art works.
 The most remarkable Jain shrines are the
Chhota Kailash (cave 30), the Indra
Sabha (cave 32) and the Jagannath
Sabha (cave 33).
 Cave 31 is an unfinished four-pillared
hall and a shrine Cave 34 is a small cave,
which can be approached through an
opening on the left side of Cave 3

21. THE INDRA SABHA (JAIN CAVES)
 The Indra Sabha (Cave 32) is a two storeyed cave
with one more monolithic shrine in its court.
 It has a very fine carving of the lotus flower on the
ceiling. It got the appellation, Indra Sabha probably
it is significantly ornate and also because of the
sculpture of Yaksha Matanga on an elephant, which
was wrongly identified as that of Indra.
 On the upper level of the double-storied
shrine excavated at the rear of the court, an
imposing image of Ambika, the Yakshi
(dedicated attendant deity) of Neminatha is
found seated on her lion under a mango
tree, laden with fruits.
 Ellora is also a World Heritage Site. Third
week of March sees the extravagant Ellora
Festival organized by MTDC.

22. ENTRY FEE OF AJANTA & ELLORA CAVES
 Citizens of India and visitors of SAARC
(Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka,
Pakistan, Maldives and Afghanistan) and
BIMSTEC Countries (Bangladesh, Nepal,
Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar) - Rs.
10 per head.
 Others: US $ 5 or Indian Rs. 250/- per head
 children up to 15 years free
 A additional fee of Rs.25 is charged if you are
taking a video camera with you
TIMING
 Ajanta Open from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M.
 Closed on Monday.
 Ellora Open from sunrise to sunset
 Closed on Tuesday.

23. HOW TO GET TO AJANTA & ELLORA CAVES
 By Air : Aurangabad, 100 kms away is the nearest
airport. Direct flights available from Delhi, Mumbai,
Jaipur etc.
 By Rail : Aurangabad is directly connected by rail with
the rest of India. There is a direct train from Delhi to
Aurangabad Distance between Ajanta and Ellora caves is
100 kilometers and can be done by car in about two
hours
 By Road :Well-maintained roads link Ajanta to
Mumbai,Buses and private taxis also are available in
many nearby cities for visiting Ajanta and Ellora caves.
Some tour organizers offer special rates from Mumbai to
see the caves.From Aurangabad - Ajanta- 100 kms,
Bombay- 390 kms, Ellora- 32 kms, Nanded- 275 kms,
Nasik- 224 kms, Pune- 232 kms.